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Labels: technology

Steve Jobs, chief executive of Apple Computer Inc., is expected to launch at least one revolutionary product Tuesday at the Macworld Conference & Expo in San Francisco. Speculation has focused mainly on an Apple-branded cellular phone and a set-top box that allows people to send video from their computers to their televisions.

Although Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris declined comment on "rumors and speculation," bloggers, enthusiasts and investors have been continually guessing whether Jobs will unveil a "smart phone" (which some are calling iPhone), iTV or both.

Apple's iPod music player wasn't the first on the market when it launched in 2001. But its sleek design and intuitive user interface quickly made it a hit.

Industry analysts believe another well-designed product from Apple could seriously threaten major tech companies such as Motorola Inc., Nokia Corp., Samsung Electronics Co., Verizon Wireless and TiVo Inc.

Expectations for Macworld are so lofty that a failure to launch an earth-shattering product this week could dent Apple's already volatile stock price, investors say. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $50.16 to $93.16. It closed Friday at $85.05 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

Wall Street's confidence in Apple has wavered slightly because of the possibility that improper handling of employee stock options would erase some of Apple's record profits. The scandal threatened to plunge Jobs into a legal morass, if not cost him his job.

Still, anticipation is so breathless in the blogosphere that some pundits have already credited Apple with changing the global telecommunications sector - even though the iPhone is technically still "vaporware," or nonexistent.

The mere suggestion that Apple might make a glamorous, simple cell phone that downloads, plays and shares digital music has intimidated competitors, said Avi Greengart, an analyst with Current Analysis.

"Even if Apple does not announce a phone, just the threat of Apple's entry could spur innovation," Greengart wrote in a research note Thursday. "If Apple builds a phone that is easy and genuinely pleasurable to use, the company will have a winner no matter how it is priced or sold."

Apple also is expected to unveil a set-top box designed to bridge computers and television sets so users can more easily watch their downloaded movies on a big screen. The move would complement Apple's entry into online movies - it began selling titles through its iTunes store in September.

As Apple launched online movies, Jobs showed off a gadget that records and plays high-definition videos, selling for $299 starting sometime in the first quarter. Analysts believe the demo was of the prerelease version of the iTV that could be introduced at Macworld, venue for many of Apple's monumental product launches over the years.

The demo, which looked like a flatter but wider version of the Mac Mini computer, worked with computers running Apple's Macintosh or Microsoft Corp.'s Windows systems and used Apple's iTunes software to manage multimedia files. A small hard drive was expected to be included with iTV.

The product could be as revolutionary to digital movies as the iPod was to digital music. Both devices would be seen as liberating media from the computer, allowing people to enjoy digital files without being chained to a desktop or laptop.

The iTV could generate millions of new customers - not just iPod-wearing hipsters but garden variety couch potatoes and big spenders on home entertainment systems, said principal analyst Josh Bernoff of Cambridge, Mass.-based Forrester Research.

"There are a whole lot more people who watch TV than listen to digital music," Bernoff said. "This could be a great edge for Apple."

Apple needs a hit next week to keep employees focused on products, not scandal. But hype over iPhone and iTV has become so deafening on blogs and Web sites that disappointment may result, said Mike Gartenberg, research director of New York-based JupiterResearch.

"The key isn't whether Apple introduces a phone or new iPod or iTV but whether over time the company keeps launching new products that capture consumers' imaginations," Gartenberg said. "That's their continuing challenge going forward, and it's a tough one."

Labels: technology

The two Silicon Valley tech giants said they agreed to share rights to the name and end their legal battle over it.

Cisco - the longtime owner of the name - had earlier said it would share it with Apple as long as the electronics-maker made its iPhone compatible with other companies' products. The settlement addressed that concern, with the two companies pledging to "explore opportunities for interoperability in the areas of security, and consumer and (business) communications."

Other terms were confidential.

Since the full deal was not made public, it's hard to say for sure which company came out on top, says tech analyst Roger Kay with Endpoint Technologies Associates. But it sure looks like a "face-saving" agreement for Cisco, he says.

"It looks like Cisco caved," says independent tech analyst Rob Enderle. The pledge of interoperability talks "looks like the typical promise that (Apple CEO) Steve Jobs has no intention of keeping," he says.

Cisco declined to comment beyond the official statement. Apple did not return phone calls.

The controversy over the iPhone name began last year, when Apple was developing a feature-packed cell phone. Long before it had an official name, Apple fans dubbed it the iPhone. That's because many Apple products begin with an "i," including the iPod music player and iTunes music store.

But there was a problem: Cisco, the world's largest network equipment maker, owned the iPhone trademark. It had originally been registered in 1996 by InfoGear, a networking company later acquired by Cisco. After the deal, Cisco adopted the name and introduced a line of iPhones, which it still sells today.

Cisco's iPhones are corporate office phones that place calls over an Internet connection instead of a traditional phone network. They do not compete directly with Apple's iPhone.

Lawyers from the two companies talked, but Apple broke off the discussion, Cisco said. Hours later, Apple announced its iPhone. Cisco sued in U.S. District Court.

At the time, Cisco said what it really wanted was for Apple to make the iPhone compatible with other products. Cisco advocates such standards because it sells the networking gear that connects them.

But now it appears that Apple will get the name without fully meeting Cisco's demands, Kay says.

"It looks like Cisco got shafted," he says. "Maybe there's something in the (undisclosed) terms, but I don't see how they're getting the good end of the deal."

Labels: technology

Labels: physics, technology

The notable statistic is that the HD Everio records in a full 1920 x 1080i resolution, earning it the billing as the "World's first full HD consumer camcorder". Sure, we've all heard of HD camcorders before, even at the "consumer" level, but most record at a scaling 1,440 x 1,080 resolution. JVC's new HD Everio equates to a 1:1 pixel ratio to most HD TVs, meaning that even HD can be sharper than it was previously.

Other specs include three 1/5-inch CCDs (meaning that each basic color gets its own chip) and HDMI, USB 2.0 and iLink (IEEE 1394) connections. The 60GB hard drive will provide quite a bit of storage for the suggested $1799.95 price tag in April.

I know, the first question on most of your minds is "no 1080p?". Just hold on. The JVC HD Everio is a huge step in the right direction of Gizmodo's definition of full consumer HD. I'm just excited at the prospect of Hollywood wetting their pants when 15-year-old boys everywhere are shooting in HD.

Also, JVC has released a line of hard drive-based camcorders with the GZ series.

The GZ-MG555 part of the 5-model Everio hard drive camcorder line. All of these SD models feature 10X zoom and 30GB hard drives that can store what we are sure is a ton of MPEG2 video. Using the bundled dock, from which you can burn DVDs directly from the Everio hard drive, or use to back up source footage to PC. Keep in mind that MPEG2 doesn't do well when edited natively, so you may need to do some conversion if you are going for the family video Oscar this year. Oh, and this bad boy takes 5 megapixel stills. $900 in March.

Finally, JVC is also releasing/updating their mini-DV line. Look for pretty standard stuff here, other than the notable F1.2 34X optical lenses, new 2.7-inch LCDs and a tiny 1/6-inch 680K CCDs (one per camcorder). JVC claims to have improved battery consumption by 50% with this mini-DV line, which is also promising.

Labels: technology

Labels: technology